San Diego, CA – George Plescia, candidate for the 39th Senate District, today denounced his opponent Assemblyman Marty Block for his vote for AB 109, the Democrat Early Release Program. Under this dangerous program, 52,000 offenders will no longer be serving time in state prison by 2013-14. They are instead being released into our local communities.
“Citizens and law enforcement are at the mercy of this defective program. It is only a matter of time before one of these violent early release offenders commits another violent crime,” Plescia said.
Violent crime (murder, attempted murder, and rape) has increased 26% in San Diego County since Marty Block’s Early Release program began.
“As our own San Diego Police Chief Lansdowne has noted, local police have seen a connection between the increase in crime and the Democrat’s ill-conceived early release program for violent offenders, which they passed a year ago. Instead of showing independence and backbone, Marty Block again voted in lock-step with the Democrat-controlled Legislature, eroding the safety of our neighborhoods.
In Merced last month, a convicted sex offender accused of attempting to sexually assault a 20-year-old woman Saturday had been released early from the Merced County Jail just days before the incident.
The suspect, Gabriel Fuentes, was released under the guidelines of Assembly Bill 109.
In Fresno this September, a woman was murdered and Police Officer Jonathan Lanzey was stabbed by a felon on probation as part of the Early Release Program. Many criminals will only serve a fraction of their sentences, while others will be granted early release to make room for the influx of new state inmates.